Rumor Alert: Celtics Want To Pickup Oden.

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: If Oden could just stay healthy he could still be a solid player in the league.

Some people are already saying the Celtics are crazy for even considering picking up the injury prone big man, but Danny Ainge and the Celtics have their eye on Greg Oden.

Ainge had this to say, “Yeah, so we’re monitoring Greg, like all the NBA teams are, but we have not attempted to sign him,” Ainge said Thursday. “But we are monitoring him and having (conversations) with his people just to see where he’s at.”

If the Celtics were willing to take a chance on the 7-foot big man it still could have a big payoff. At this point Boston could probably get Oden for next to nothing. They could treat him as a project player and if he stays healthy could be a solid contributor inside. If he gets injured again who cares? They’ll spend so little on him it won’t even matter.

Ainge looked at how Boston would utilize Oden by saying, “I don’t think he’d be ready to play this year. I don’t know any of that for sure, but I would suspect that anybody that would sign him would have their eyes looking more towards his contribution in the future than now.”

“I think that there’s been stretches, very few stretches, where he’s played excellent ball,” Ainge said. “He’s been a terrific defender and a fantastic offensive rebounder and just a real big, strong presence on the inside. I think that he’s been that.”